“Divining roots: Revealing how plants branch out to access water”

New research has discovered how plant roots sense the availability of moisture in soil and then adapt their shape to optimise acquisition of water.
Roots are critical for plants to acquire water and soluble nutrients from the soil.
Roots, when exposed to moisture remain active and promote root branching but when exposed to air, are modified and inactivated, blocking root branching.
Water is essential for plant growth, yet changing climatic conditions makes acquiring moisture from soil even more challenging. Plants are relatively immobile and therefore their growth and development is much dependent on their environment. However, plants are able to adapt to different soil moisture conditions by altering their root architecture. A particular protein interaction will also help develop plants that could continue to branch roots even in challenging conditions such as water scarcity.
Crop production must double by 2050 to keep pace with global population growth. This target is even more challenging given the impact of climate change on water availability and the drive to reduce fertilizer inputs to make agriculture become more environmentally sustainable. In both cases, developing crops with improved water and nutrient uptake efficiency would provide a solution.